Daniel Lawless was caught on camera showing off the weapon to friends in a pub car park before shooting his victim outside his own home in an apparent case of mistaken identity
An unsuspecting man was blasted in the legs with a shotgun outside his own home while heading to the chippy.
Daniel Lawless was captured on CCTV “showing the weapon off to his friends” in a pub car park prior to shooting his victim in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity.
The attack is understood to have occurred amid a backdrop of “petty, tit-for-tat retaliation” between opposing gangs, leaving the wounded victim hauling himself back indoors to safety and questioning: “Why did he still shoot me if I wasn’t the person he wanted to shoot? It was nothing to do with me.”
Liverpool Crown Court was told on Friday afternoon that David Forbes departed his residence on the evening of February 28 last year and set off towards a chip shop to collect food for his family. After crossing Cubert Road in Croxteth, he spotted a masked Lawless dropping a white plastic bag and sprinting in his direction, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Simon Christie, prosecuting, outlined how the 23-year-old, of no fixed address, was dressed entirely in black and “mumbled something indistinct” before aiming a shotgun at Mr Forbes, who “has no connection whatsoever with the defendant or any of his associates”, and discharging it. The complainant remembered a “bang and a flash” before collapsing to the ground and discovering he had been shot in the legs.
Mr Forbes then “dragged himself back to his house”, where his stepson recalled him entering the property and crying “I’ve been shot”. Mr Christie added: “Mr Forbes believed this to be a case of mistaken identity. He was entirely correct. This was a deliberate shooting of a wholly innocent person who was nothing whatsoever to do with the defendant.”
The attack left Mr Forbes with “nasty injuries to his lower leg”, having initially spent a fortnight in hospital before later being readmitted for four weeks after developing blood clots. He has since undergone multiple operations and skin grafts, with hundreds of shotgun pellets still lodged in his legs.
Unable to attend the sentencing hearing due to ongoing medical treatment, Mr Forbes submitted a statement which was read aloud to the court: “I wanted to look at him directly and ask him why? I have no knowledge of why this happened.
“I was the wrong person at the wrong time. I’m glad it happened to me. Initially, my stepson was going to the chip shop. I decided to go instead. He’s struggled with what’s happened and struggled with his exams during his third year at university.
“I’d just like to know why he did this to me. I was just going to the shop. Why did he still shoot me if I wasn’t the person he wanted to shoot? It was nothing to do with me.”
CCTV footage captured Lawless departing an address on Petherick Road on foot just after 10pm, making his way into the car park of the Lobster pub, where he was filmed pulling a shotgun from a carrier bag and brandishing it to three men standing outside. After walking away to carry out the attack, he fled the scene, briefly returned, then left once more — at which point he was spotted “gesturing towards the males in the car park”.
Upon returning to Petherick Road, Lawless was filmed getting into a parked vehicle approximately 20 minutes later, clutching a backpack, before “disappearing”. He subsequently arrived back at the address by taxi at around 7.15am the following morning, dressed in a dressing gown and carrying a black rucksack, with police never recovering the firearm.
Lawless has a prior criminal record, including a 10-month sentence for making threats with an offensive weapon in a public place in January 2023. He was later handed five years and four months for wounding with intent in July 2025, having “thrown boiling hot sugar water over his cellmate, causing significant injuries” while behind bars.
Defence counsel Charles Lander informed the court that Lawless had suffered the death of his grandmother earlier that week, before stating: “It is accepted that Mr Forbes is an entirely innocent victim of the defendant’s behaviour. This young defendant is clearly facing a lengthy period of imprisonment.
“Clearly, probation and the Prison Service are trying to work with him. He is a defendant who suffers with a number of issues. His parents have come to court. They have been highly supportive throughout these proceedings.
“They express their utmost sympathy to Mr Forbes and his family. They cannot believe that they are in a position where they are sitting in a courtroom listening to these serious acts committed by their son.
“The defendant has taken the opportunity of finding trusted employment as wing cleaner in prison. Clearly, there have been some concerns about how he has behaved in prison. There have been significant issues with his mental health.
“His position in prison has been made more difficult by threats that are being made. Clearly, these are threats that have been persisting for some time. Obviously, the defendant dealt with one threat in a highly disproportionate way by obtaining a weapon in February of last year.
“He is still relatively young. He is determined, when released from prison, that he is going to leave Liverpool, leave the various associates who he stupidly hung around with in the younger part of his life and, ultimately, be a member of society his parents can be proud of.”
Lawless admitted wounding with intent and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, with a previous charge of attempted murder being ordered to lie on the file. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he appeared to wipe his eyes with his blue Montirex t-shirt before he was jailed for 18-and-a-half years and handed an additional four years on licence.
During sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne stated: “Mr Forbes was a totally innocent member of the public. He did not know you. He did not associate with you or any of your friends. He had nothing to do with any criminal group. He was simply walking to a chip shop to get some food.
“You left your home carrying a loaded shotgun in a plastic bag. Your face was covered. You intended to shoot someone as part of some petty, tit-for-tat retaliation. You showed the weapon off to your friends.
“What happened next has been captured quite clearly on CCTV. You pointed the weapon at Mr Forbes and discharged it once at close proximity. Mr Forbes managed to drag himself back to his home address, badly injured and covered in blood. He sustained serious injuries to both legs below the knees.
“His injuries required several bouts of surgery. Mr Forbes speaks to both the ongoing physical and psychological harm that he experiences. He can no longer do many things he previously enjoyed doing and had to give up his job.
“The unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition are of grave concern to society. They can be used to main and kill. Innocent members of the public, as in this case, are put at risk of serious injury or worse.
“There are permanent and irreversible injuries here. A significant aggravating feature is your previous convictions. I find no particularly compelling mitigation.”
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